Held for Ransom

by Kathleen Tailer

  Tucci had the nerve to look surprised, but he was a very bad actor. It was obvious from the expression on his face that Noah had hit the nail on the head.

  “I think I need an attorney.”

  “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day.” Noah closed the file and stood. “I’m sorry your fiancée was killed, Mr. Tucci. I really am. But that doesn’t give you the right to hurt other people, especially innocent ones. Ms. Archer wants to verify the truth about what happened to Maggie—no more, no less. She wants to follow the evidence wherever it leads and make sure we got the right guy. And you almost killed her for that.”

  He walked to the door, satisfied that there was nothing more to get from this man. The anger he had felt toward Mason Tucci had dissipated, and now he just felt sorry for him. Maggie’s fiancé was going to prison for attempted murder—all because he had misread a situation and acted with his emotions instead of his head. Now his entire life would be changed forever because of one very bad decision. Noah ran his fingers through his hair, then fisted his hands. Maybe he could learn something from this guy.

  * * *

  Sophia awoke with a start, her body cramped from the awkward position she had been sleeping in. She massaged her neck, trying to work out the kinks, and sat slowly, groggily remembering where she was and why she was there. Conference room. Atlanta Police Department. Kylie. She was still in her chair since she had fallen asleep on her laptop keyboard. She wondered how many of the keys were now indented on her cheek. She rubbed her face absently, hoping she hadn’t drooled on the keyboard.

  She stretched and glanced around the conference room. Someone had turned the overhead fixture off, but she could still see because of the ambient light coming from four laptops, the LCD screen, and the safety flashlights plugged in on two of the conference room walls.

  She stood and ambled over to the inside window that let her see the detectives’ bullpen. The light was low there, too, but she could make out a couple of figures. Roman was asleep at his desk, his arm thrown haphazardly across the back of his chair, pillowing his head. Noah was the only other person in the room. Still in the clothes he had been wearing during the bombing, he had pulled two of the office chairs together to create a makeshift bed.

  She leaned against the window frame, still rubbing her cheek, and studied Noah. Normally clean-shaved, his beard now shadowed his face, giving him a mischievous appearance. His features showed his exhaustion, and she saw stress lines around his eyes, even in sleep. Even so, he was incredibly handsome and a whisper of attraction swept over her from head to toe. Some might not have found him as attractive as she did, but she loved his rugged features, high cheekbones and broad shoulders.

  Sophia shifted but continued her perusal. His face seemed almost boyish in the low light, and she was reminded suddenly of a time when they had been ten or so and they’d gone wandering around on a friend’s farm. They came back as dirty as could be, yet full of excitement. It had been a day filled with adventure, and they had explored, playacted, danced and just enjoyed each other’s company for the entire day. Life had been so simple then. Her biggest worries had been how to get the ketchup stain off her shirt and making sure she was home by six each night. Noah had been her best friend, and even running around the neighborhood, they had spent hours together on a regular basis. She missed those days.

  She stopped her woolgathering and glanced at the clock mounted over the conference room door. It was a little after 6:00 a.m. She went in search of a bathroom and then quietly returned to the conference room. Still alone, she glanced out the window again and noticed that Roman was no longer sleeping in his chair and had disappeared. Only Noah was still sleeping, but she didn’t want to wake him. She stretched and yawned, but then sat again in front of her laptop. She’d only gotten a few hours of rest, but she didn’t think she could sleep any longer, despite the fatigue that was making her mind feel fuzzy. A moment later, she noticed that someone had brought in a box of Danish pastries and put it on the table. There was a sticker on the top, letting everyone know that the filling was cherry.

  Cherries.

  Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sophia remembered something about an annual cherry blossom festival in Georgia. She logged on to the computer again and quickly did a search.

  According to the website, the International Cherry Blossom Festival was held in Macon, Georgia, each year near the end of March. It was a ten-day-long celebration that featured food, rides, concerts, a pink pancake breakfast and even movies in the park. It was a big deal for the city. She found the logo for the event and then pulled up the video of her sister pleading for her life. The logo matched the sticker that was on the box behind Kylie, and it was this year’s logo, not the one used for previous events.

  So, what did that mean? Had the owner of the place where they were holding Kylie bought something for the festival that was stored in the boxes? Or was the owner storing something that was being readied to ship to the festival organizers?

  She looked closer at the box but still didn’t see any other helpful information. The box was nondescript, with no shipping label or visible markings. There was packing tape sealing the seams shut, but there was nothing unusual about it.

  Sophia went back to the festival website and looked for the sponsors list. There were fifteen gold corporate sponsors and about thirty silver corporate sponsors. It was time-consuming, but she started at the top and looked into each of the sponsors, hoping that one of them was based in or near Flint Rock, Georgia. She was assuming that Kylie was being held in a warehouse for a sponsoring company. She had no idea if her assumption was correct, but she had to start somewhere, and the quest had given her a second wind. Her fingers flew over the keys as she dug into the research.

  After an hour, she went in search of the coffeepot. She filled two cups, grabbed some napkins and cream and sugar, remembering how Noah had fixed his coffee at her apartment the day before, and returned to the conference room.

  Noah entered the conference room soon after, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. She handed him the coffee, placed a Danish on a napkin and handed him that, too. He wolfed the pastry down in three quick bites. She laughed, got him another and then took one for herself.

  “Hungry?” She smiled as she took a seat by his. Her eyes were crossing after so much time on the computer. It was as good a time as any to take a short break.

  “Starving.” He took another bite, followed it with a swig of coffee and made a face. “I recognize the horrible precinct coffee we always have, but who brought in the Danish? These aren’t half bad.”

  Sophia shrugged. “I don’t know. They just showed up on the table when I went to the bathroom. If I had to guess, I think it was Roman who brought them. He was sleeping at his desk when I first woke up, but then he disappeared.”

  Noah had a smear of icing from the pastry on his chin. She raised her hand, intending to brush it away, but stopped herself. What was she thinking? She quickly dropped her hand and busied herself with eating her own Danish. She could feel Noah’s eyes on her, but she avoided looking at him as she took a bite and stirred a packet of sugar into her coffee. The air felt charged with electricity. She needed to move. Now.

  Standing, she went back over to sit in front of the laptop she’d been searching from. But she kept missing the keys as she typed. Why was there suddenly no air to breathe in this room?

  She needed a diversion and quickly. Something, anything, to make her stop thinking about kissing Noah Bradley.

  “I found something this morning,” she murmured softly. “The sticker on the box behind Kylie in the video is from the International Cherry Blossom Festival they hold in Macon each year. I’ve been researching the different companies that sponsor the event, but so far, I haven’t found any connections to the case.” She felt Noah come up behind her, and the air became even more electrified. A shiver went down her spine. Was he as affe
cted as she was? She was afraid to glance at him to find out.

  Without a word, he touched her shoulders and kneaded them softly. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the contact, the warmth from his hands giving her comfort and a peaceful feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She was surprised to realize that she welcomed his touch, when only a couple of days ago she had stiffened and pulled away. She had seen such a different side to him as they had worked together. The new Noah had matured and become a man that she was proud to know.

  “If that room where they are holding Kylie is in a warehouse, then there could certainly be a connection to the festival,” Noah replied softly.

  Sophia found herself leaning into his hands. She just couldn’t help herself. “I made a big assumption by hoping that my sister was being held somewhere near Flint Rock. I was hoping that one of the sponsors had a connection with that part of Georgia.” Did her voice sound as breathless to Noah as it did to her own ears? Good grief, what was wrong with her?

  “Hey, who ate all my Danish?” Roman said as he entered the conference room. He went straight to the open box and looked inside as Noah dropped his hands and took a step back. Sophia’s shoulders felt immediately bereft.

  “We saved you a couple,” Noah replied with a smile. “Thanks for bringing those in, by the way. I was really hungry.”

  Roman raised an eyebrow, then broke out into a smile. It was obvious that in the short time that had elapsed, he had gone somewhere, taken a shower, shaved, and was now impeccably dressed. His pants even appeared ironed, as they had a perfect crease down the front. He was carrying a gym bag, and he tossed it to Noah, who caught it in the air.

  “Here’s something else for you. I grabbed my go bag out of the trunk. We’re about the same size, so those clothes should work.” He gave Noah a sly grin. “Now maybe you’ll be decently dressed for the office.”

  Noah laughed and unzipped the bag. Sophia could just see a shaving kit and a set of clothing. She remembered Noah had left a similar bag at her apartment last night, and it was probably right where they’d left it, sitting by the couch. She wondered how often an investigation had these detectives working around the clock like this one. It must be rather frequently if they prepared enough to keep a go bag on hand on a regular basis.

  Her respect for them, and for law enforcement in general, went up another notch. She wondered if the general public knew how dedicated these people really were to protecting and serving their communities. At a moment’s notice, they were ready to go, and they didn’t leave with a job half done. They kept on pushing until the goal was accomplished. Their work ethic was inspiring.

  “Thanks, Roman. I owe you one.” Noah’s voice seemed a bit husky, but Sophia still couldn’t look at him. Her feelings were too jumbled.

  Roman shrugged and took another bite of his Danish as Noah filled him in on what Sophia had researched about the festival.

  Roman sat at the laptop he had been using and pulled up one of his police databases. “This program might speed up the search. What are the common terms you are using?”

  She went over the various searches she had already performed. “I haven’t found any leads so far,” Sophia admitted, “but I’m only about halfway through the silver list. There weren’t any hits on the gold list.”

  “It’s a good idea,” Roman commented as his fingers flew over the keys. “You keep working on that list. I’ll start on suppliers.”

  “And I’ll go clean up and make myself presentable,” Noah said as he shouldered the gym bag and headed for the door. “Sophia, I’m sure we can scare up a toothbrush for you, if you’re in need of one.”

  “Thanks, but I have one.” She had learned long ago to carry around a few toiletries in her bag, just in case. She finally looked up at him. He gave her a smile, then left the room.

  She returned to her keyboard and moved on to the next name on her list, glad that the feelings of attraction had at least dissipated long enough for her to focus on her research again. She wasn’t sure what to make of those feelings, and right now, she didn’t want to analyze them too closely.

  A half hour later, Roman pushed his chair back. “Found it!” he exclaimed, excitement in his voice.

  Noah returned, clean-shaved and wearing a new set of khakis with a white shirt and a teal paisley tie. He sheepishly claimed the last Danish and came up behind Roman so he could see his screen. Sophia also leaned over to take a look, Roman’s excitement making her own anticipation spike.

  “Southern Imports, Incorporated, sells fireworks to vendors all over the region, including the International Cherry Blossom Festival.” Roman smiled and tapped a few more keys. He looked like the Cheshire cat. “Guess who owns the company?”

  THIRTEEN

  “John Prensky!” Sophia exclaimed as she read the name from the screen. “And, look, he has a warehouse in Albany, Georgia. That’s just a hop, skip and jump from Flint Rock!”

  Roman pushed back his chair. “Yep.” He looked up at Noah. “According to this, his company sells a lot more than just fireworks, like party supplies, banners—the whole enchilada. Based on these pictures, he has a warehouse and office space at the same location on the western side of Albany. How do you want to handle it?”

  “Charlie is already down in Flint Rock,” Noah responded. “He started working with the local boys yesterday. Can you get the warrant? While you’re working on that, I can coordinate the search.” He pulled out his cell phone as Roman nodded and quickly left the room.

  Noah turned back to Sophia, dialing as he spoke. “And while we’re doing that, can you dig into Southern Imports? I want to know everything there is to know about that company, especially the names of the officers, other shareholders, major customers... You know—all of it. I doubt John Prensky did the kidnapping all by himself. In fact, I’m sure he didn’t because he had an alibi that we’ve already verified, and he couldn’t have been in two places at one time. He must have had help.”

  Sophia nodded and turned back to her computer. Her heart was beating like a bass drum against her rib cage as the excitement built. Were they finally close to finding Kylie? Hope surged within her.

  After reading about the company through the website pages, she turned to the county clerk’s office and the state government sites to locate the incorporation papers and any other information she could find. She could hear Noah in the background, working with Charlie and the local police department as they developed a plan to approach the warehouse.

  A few minutes later, he was talking to Roman and a clerk at the courthouse. The search warrant was issued and sent to the authorities in Flint Rock. Everything seemed to be going smoothly so far. She turned back to her laptop and typed furiously, then froze as a name came across the screen.

  She glanced over at Noah, her heart in her throat. Noah was walking back and forth at the end of the conference table, talking to someone on his cell about the search warrant. When he saw Sophia’s reaction, he hastily ended the call and came to her side.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Sophia pointed to her screen. “What was the name of that sergeant from the ASU police department who was searching for Sophia?”

  “Kittinger, I think. Why?”

  “Do you know his first name?”

  “No, but it’s easy enough to find out.” He leaned over her screen. “What are we looking at?”

  “These are the incorporation papers for Southern Imports.” Sophia pointed to a list of names. “These are the officers. If Esau Kittinger is the same man that works for the campus police, I think I know why nobody has found Kylie yet. He’s probably working with John Prensky. He’s one of the kidnappers!”

  Noah squeezed her shoulder and quickly made another call. “Roman, we’ve got a problem.” He went on to describe what Sophia had found and asked him to obtain a warrant to search Sergeant Kittinger’s office and home, as well as an
arrest warrant for the man himself. Then he called Charlie and updated him on the entire situation.

  Sophia stood and hugged herself, pacing as Noah handled the details of coordinating the search. She suddenly felt nauseous. What if they were too late? What if Kylie was already dead? Fear and doubt assailed her and made her hands shake. She grabbed her elbows, trying to stop the involuntary movements, and took a deep breath, hoping she could settle her nerves.

  Noah finally hung up and moved quickly to Sophia’s side. He held out his arms while tilting his head and beckoning with his eyes, giving her the choice.

  Sophia didn’t hesitate. She stepped willingly into his embrace, savoring the warmth and comfort he was offering. It felt so good to just be held. It made her feel safe, as if all of the heartache she was experiencing was actually surmountable.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Noah murmured. “You did great investigative work. Now let Charlie and his team exercise the warrants. We should hear something soon. Charlie is good at his job. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “What if she’s dead?” Sophia whispered against his shirt. “What if they killed her right after they sent that video?”

  “They wouldn’t do that,” Noah reassured her. “They haven’t gotten what they want yet. She’s still leverage to them. That means she has value. They’re not going to throw that away. Don’t give up.”

  Sophia felt the tears threaten, yet wasn’t able to stop them. “Noah, I’m so scared.” She could feel herself trembling, but she couldn’t stop that, either. Noah gently rubbed his hand on her back, and the motion helped soothe her apprehension, as did the spicy scent of his aftershave, but it wasn’t enough to stop the crying. For several minutes, he held her as she cried. When the tears finally slowed, she was spent, exhaustion and stress overwhelming her.